Everything you need to know for Eagles-Cowboys

In one of the most-anticipated divisional matchups so far this season, Carson Wentz and the Eagles travel to Arlington, Texas, on Sunday to take on the Dak Prescott and the Cowboys. Dallas currently sits atop the division with a 5-1 record, while Philadelphia is in second at 4-2. Below are some key stats and preview data to know before Sunday Night Football kicks off.

PFF owner Cris Collinsworth will be on the call for this “Sunday Night Football” matchup, and in his estimation the biggest key will come down to whether the Eagles’ defensive front can slow down Dallas’ rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys’ excellent run-blocking offensive line. Check out that and more in this week’s Big-Game Breakdown video:

The other major storyline heading into this contest, naturally, is the meeting of this season’s two incredibly impressive rookie quarterbacks. Despite a poor outing against the Vikings last week, Wentz’s grades prior to that game have been exceptional, with the No. 2 overall pick owning an adjusted completion percentage of 75.3 this season (14th-bet among QBs through Week 7). Just ahead of him, however, is Dak Prescott, at 76.0.

The Cowboys haven’t asked a much of their rookie passer this season as Philadelphia, however, with Prescott attempting just 6.6 percent of his passes to targets 20+ yards downfield this season — the lowest rate among all NFL quarterbacks. Conversely, Wentz has attempted a deep throw on 12.4 percent of his passes, the 13th-highest rate in the league.

When watching Sunday’s game, however, be sure to take in the contest’s other key matchups. The Eagles’ defense — especially along the line, in the form of Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham — has impressed this season. Through seven weeks, Graham owns the second-best overall grade among NFL edge defenders, with 30 total QB pressures to his name.

At defensive tackle, Cox owns the fifth-highest overall grade this season among NFL interior defenders. He’ll often face Cowboy’s RG Zack Martin on Sunday, the league’s second-highest-graded guard, and top-graded run-blocking guard. Through Week 7, Cox has recorded the third-highest pass-rushing productivity mark among DTs (behind only Aaron Donald and Leonard Williams), as well as the 15th-highest run-stop percentage.

Chase is a General Editor at PFF, focusing on the site’s NFL content strategy. His work has been featured in ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Insider, and The Cincinnati Enquirer. Follow @ChaseHowellPFF

KWS13

So this is the 3rd article about either this game or either of the teams just this week when normally prime time or even divisional prime time games get basically no extra attention. Any chance this happens if it’s not an NFC East/Cowboys game? Didn’t think so…

patrick

salty much? umm Cowboys are very popular… the most popular…. get over it